Virtual Fiction Class

Virtual Writing Class with Maine Word

Maine Word now offers a virtual Writers’ class with Caroline King. The class has been designed to immerse you in the pleasures and challenges of fiction writing and can serve as a great beginning to the writing the great American story. The class, in eight email lessons, will help you to plan, write, and edit a short story over the next two months. The lessons are all-inclusive and provide writing prompts, ideas and allow you to complete the class on your schedule from anywhere.

If your goal is to write a story – this class will give you the structure and skills you need to succeed. The class will combine strong fundamentals in a fun and supportive virtual environment that provides a variety of writing exercises and feedback as you write your story. If this is your first story or your fifteenth story, the class will conclude with a professional editorial opinion of your work and help you to bring out your story to meet the world. In addition to the lessons, you will have have your own coach to keep you on track and answer your questions during the class.

The email format allows participants to work at their own pace and you can start anytime that is right for you. The cost is $168 and payment arrangements are available. For more information or to sign up, please contact Caroline King at Maine Word (www.maineword.com) or by phone at 207-491-9810.

Lunch and Learn in Rumford

Caroline King of Maine Word, in conjunction with the River Valley Growth Council, will present a Business Writing workshop in Rumford, Maine. This interactive Lunch and Learn workshop will be held on Wednesday, April 22 from 11A – 2P.

For more information or to register, please contact Beverly Crosby at 369-0396.

Maine Word helps out the American Red Cross

Maine Word recently made a donation of $250 worth of programs and services to the Mid Coast Chapter American Red Cross for their annual fundraiser held on March 7. The lucky winner of the Getting Down to Business package will be able to decide what makes the most sense for their business - it might be a new brochure, a press release package or attendance at one of Maine Word's writing classes.

Please join Maine Word in our support of the American Red Cross by making a donation to your local chapter.

Entrepreneurs learn new skills

Maine Word, along with five small business owners in Franklin County, were featured in today's Sun Journal and Daily Bulldog.

Entrepreneurs learn new skills to succeed: http://www.sunjournal.com/story/306234-3/Connections/Entrepreneurs_learn_new_skills_to_succeed/

http://www.dailybulldog.com/db/?p=1686

Entrepreneurs Learn New Skills to Succeed

FARMINGTON--University of Maine Cooperative Extension recently presented the Writing for Your Business workshop series for five Franklin County small businesses. Kim LaRoche (Sunshine Pools), Jean Rouillard (J. & J. Rouillard and Sons), Dick Mitchell (Maine Energy $aver$), Robin Jordan (Robin’s Flower Pot) and Lynn Thurston (Blue Sky Produce) all took part in the three-evening workshop taught by Marc Edwards of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Caroline King of Maine Word.

Writing for Your Business took place in early February and covered a number of topics to help small business owners tell their unique story with words. This workshop gave business owners the skills necessary to write effective and creative marketing materials to use in their growing businesses. Participant created a core statement for their individual businesses and learned how to use that statement other marketing applications.

Dick Mitchell, who is the process of opening his new business, said, “I found better ways to communicate with my customers in print.” While Jean Roulliard’s comments focused on tools that she learned “to distinguish my products and services from my competitors.”
According to participant Robin Jordan, “The class provided me with information on the many resources that are available to promote my business. It also made me look at my business in a different way. Thank you to the Extension for offering this class and Caroline for providing me with many useful tools.”

Kimberly LaRoche said “I found the first class to be especially helpful in getting words out of my head and onto paper where I can use them to create a mission statement and a business plan. This will help us to assemble documents to present to local banks for financing.” According to LaRoche the most significant elements of the class were “the ideas and brainstorming that we were able to do as a class; ideas to advertise for free and how businesses that compliment each other can collaborate to provide support and awareness of each other's businesses to the public.”

Marc Edwards, in his reflections on the class, said, “Having Caroline King, a small business owner herself, partnering with University of Maine Cooperative Extension in providing this program was a large part of its success. The participants really exemplified the entrepreneurial drive needed to succeed as small or home-based businesses, especially in these economic times.”
For more information about future classes, please contact Marc Edwards at University of Maine Cooperative Extension at 778-4650 or Caroline King of Maine Word at 491-9810.

In the News

Maine Word's Writing For Your Business Workshop scheduled for April 10 was recently highlighted in Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association email newsletter.
http://www.mofgastore.org/product.sc?categoryId=5&productId=96


In the Morning Sentinel (3/3/09), "Caroline King recently
delivered books to the Phillips Public Library librarian Hedy Langdon as part of an Opportunity Center of North Franklin County project to provide resources to local small businesses."

In the Sun Journal's March 5th edition, Center donates books to 3 libraries

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/306232-3/Connections/Center_donates_books_to_3_libraries/#

Business Class in Unity

UNITY -- Caroline King of Maine Word, in conjunction with Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), will present a Writing for Your Business workshop in Unity, Maine. The workshop will give small business owners the skills necessary to write effective and creative marketing materials.

Caroline King will present this interactive and results-oriented workshop on Friday, April 10 from 1P – 5P. Caroline King, a published writer and editor, understands the challenges facing small business. She will share her professional expertise to help small business succeed during these tough economic times. The workshop will help small business owners to tell their business story by developing a mission statement for their business; learn how to express the unique benefits of their product or service on the printed page, and learn how to put this together in a compelling and concise ‘elevator’ speech.

In addition, participants will learn to develop and use various marketing materials to promote their business. This hands-on session will teach participants how to create written content for their brochures, websites, and press releases to spread the word quickly and effectively about their business. This informative workshop will cost $35 per person and participants will walk away with written materials for their business, along with great ideas and resources.

To register, please go to MOFGA’s online store, www.mofga.org or call 568-4142. The class size of the workshop is limited to fifteen people, so participants are encouraged to register early.

Opportunity Center Donates Books to Local Libraries

The Opportunity Center of North Franklin County continues to work as a catalyst to ensure the success of our region by supporting entrepreneurs with a donation to local libraries. In their latest project, the Opportunity Center has purchased business books for libraries in Phillips, Strong and Rangeley. The project was made possible by a grant from John Merck Fund and will provide an on-going resource for local entrepreneurs.

In consultation with local business owners, the Opportunity Center developed a book list to meet the needs of both new and existing businesses in Franklin County. The books were chosen to provide general guidance on how to start and manage a business, creative ways to market your products or services and motivational and exploratory books about entrepreneurship. These resource books will be available at local libraries and may also be obtained via inter-library loan.

The books were purchased at Books, Lines and Thinkers in Rangeley. Caroline King, who headed up the Opportunity Center Library Book project, said “We would like to thank proprietor Wes Connally for his generous support for this project. His competitive prices, combined with the considerable discount he gave, made it possible for us to spend the grant money locally.”

The books include:

Rangeley Public Library:
Storytelling for Grantseekers: The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising - Cheryl A. Clarke
Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Business and Securing Your Company's Future - Linda Pinson
The E-Myth Revisited: Why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it - Michael Gerber
The Four Hour workweek - Timothy Ferriss
The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook - Jay Levinson & Seth Godin

Phillips Public Library:
The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Strategies for Continuously Creating Opportunity in an age of uncertainty – McGrath and MacMillian
Made to Stick: Why some ideas survive and others die - Chip Heath and Dan Heath
The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge - Ted Klontz, Ph.D
Permission Marketing - Seth Godin
Do what you love, the money will follow: Discovering your right livelihood. - Dr. Marsha Sinetar

Strong Public Library
Soul Proprietor - Jane Pollak
Small Business Start-up Kit - Peri H Pakroom and Barbara Kate Repa
Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism - Muhammad Yunus
Who’s Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where We Live the Most Important Decision of your Life. - Richard Florida
Starting on a Shoestring: Building a business without a bankroll - Arnold S. Goldstein
Never Eat Alone - Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz